Portable game playing device utilizing balls simulating playing cards



May 29, 1951 J. J. HICKEY PORTABLE GAME PLAYING DEVICE UTILIZING BALLSSIMULATING PLAYING CARDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 21, 1947 INVENTOR. JOHN J H/C/(A-"Y BY I ATTO/Q/Vi K5 May 29, 1951 J J, H|CKEY2,555,132

PORTABLE GAME PLAYING DEVICE UTILIZING BALLS SIMULATING PLAYING CARDSFiled March 21, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN J. H/C/(EYATTOQA/EKS M y 1951 J. J. HICKEY PORTABLE GAME PLAYING DEVICE UTILIZINGBALLS SIMULATING PLAYING CARDS Filed March 21, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 9WW W mm wr w t mm B Patented May 29, I951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECEPORTABLE GAME PLAYING DEVICE UTILIZ- ING BALLS SIMULATING PLAYING CARDSJohn J. Hickey, Belleville, N. J.

Application March 21, 1947, Serial No. 736,150

issued August 28, 1945, covering improvements in the aforesaid machine,comprises an inclined plane disposed in a hollow body, the plane beingformed of a winged central portion which when elevated together with thearcuate surface portion of the interior of the hollow body constitutesthe shuffling chamber. When the movable section of the plane is broughtinto alignment with the other portions thereof, channels guide the mixedballs in serving the players with representations of cards, dealt faceupward, or downward, dependent upon the direction in which the hollowbody is tipped.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide a portable machinefor shuffling and dealing in simulated card games that will aid stillfurther in the social rehabilitation of the less fortunate members ofthe community who have lost their ability to handle ordinary playingcards but who still may derive stimulation from the games.

Another object is to provide a machine that will shuffle or mix and dealor serve in any simulated card game requiring one or more regular packsof playing cards.

Still another object is to make simulated card games possible underconditions that would prohibit the use of the ordinary pasteboardplaying cards.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a machine that willprovide simulated card games based on the laws of chance withoutarousing suspicion among contestants.

Other objects will become apparent in the course of the followingspecification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswhich show a preferred embodiment thereof and in which like referencenumerals indicate like parts.

In the attainment of these objectives, it has been found advisable to soform the machine that it will simulate the principal steps in cardgames,

n 4 Claims. (01. 273-148) that is, holding or containing and mixing orshuflling a large number of playing units; repeatedly allocating anddealing to the players small lots of the required predetermined numbersof mixed playing units; displaying or concealing the mixed and dealtunits in partially completed and wholly completed hands; and returningthe discarded playing units to storage or for further mixing as desired.In the accomplishment of these sequential steps, a semi-rotatable mixingcomponent is disposed in a casing equipped with a ball displaying trayfor exposed hands, and ball-concealing box pockets for unexposed hands.Balls marked to represent cards of the deck are,

1 inserted in the semi-rotatable mixing drum and tossed about therein byclockwise and counter clockwise movements thereof until mixed. Anallocating chamber or device inserted in the mixing drum segregates theballs that are to be served. A counter-clockwise movement and contact ofthe drum with a stop, deposits the balls by centrifugal force on anadjustable runway to the ball-displaying tray for the exposed hand, tothe ball-concealing box pockets for the unexposed hands, or back intothe mixing drum as desired.

The device is particularly adapted for playing with balls such games asstud poker where all cards but the first round are dealt face up and thebetting usually begins after the first round. However, a number of othergames may be played by means of the same machine. The number ofcontestants may be increased or decreased as desired. With the exceptionof the relatively minor operation of mixing the balls, little physicaleffort of any kind is required.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the gameplaying device constructedin accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the line 22 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the line 3-3 ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the line i4 ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the line 5-5 of Figure3.

Figure 6 is a top view of the balledisplaying tray enlarged.

Figure 7 is an end view of the ball-displaying tray shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged top view of the lever controlling the serving ofthe balls to the balldisplaying tray, ball-concealing box pockets, orback intothe mixing drum.

Figure 9 is a side view of the lever shown in Figure 8 with part of thecasing removed.

Figure 10 is a view in perspective of the ball concealing box pocket.

The game playing machine comprises the casing II], the detachableball-displaying tray II, and the ball-concealing box pockets I2.

The casing I supports the hollow semi-rotatable drum I3 (Fig. 3), andsubsequently described associated means (Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 6) forserving the balls I4 to the ball-displaying tray II (Figs. 1, 6, and11), in the ball-concealing box pockets I2 (Figs. 1, 3 and 10), or backinto the drum I3, (Fig. 3). The casing may be constructed of anysuitable material and of any shape with due regard to the rotation ofthe drum I3 (Fig. 3). In addition, it may be formed exclusively orpartially of opaque materials as long as the secrecy of the unexposedhands is maintained.

The game is played with the balls I4 having an outside coversufiiciently resilient to suppress noise and relatively heavy cores toinsure both thorough mixing and free rolling. The surfaces of the ballsare further designed for durable imprinting of the card indicia so thatwear and tear caused by repeated mixings and dealing is minimized.Moreover, the balls may be colored to conform to the four suits of theusual deck of playing cards.

The drum I3 is disposed in the casing II] in such a manner that it canbe rotated through substantially 180 by the handle I5 (Figs. 1 and 2)about the axis I6 (Fig. 3) and from either side of the casing. Thus, theoperator may use either his left or right hand, for the most arduouspart of the game. shuflling is accomplished by moving the drum back andforth several times through some 180. The drum I3 is formed of twocircular discs, Figure 3, keyed to the axle I6 and separated from thesides of the casing and each other by spacing washers or similar meansas required. The axle I6 is rotatably mounted through the spacedparallel members of the casing II] by any suitable bearing means Mia andISb. The circumference of the drum is covered except for the opening I'I(Fig. 3) at one end of which an allocating chamber I8 (Fig. 3) islocated. The allocatin chamber I8, disposed as shown between the rims ofthe drum, extends partially above the circumference thereof andcomprises the outer compartment I9 and inner compartment 20 which areseparated by a floor formed with the trap door 2|, opening into theouter compartment I9, and the base of the receptacle 22. The floor ofthis receptacle, as well as the corresponding surface of the trap door,is provided with channels formed by the inserts 23 (Fig. 3) and havingsufficient space for entrapping one ball in each stall in the hereinafter described manner.

The machine illustrated provides one stall for each of five players but,of course, the number of stalls may be increased or decreased asdesired. With the allocating chamber I8 in the down positiornshowndotted in Figure 3, the trapdoor 2i will open, under its own weight aswell as the weight of the inserted balls or other means as desired, andthe balls will tend to fall through into the outer chamber I9 but notmore than one can pass into each of the five stalls because of thelimited swing of the trapdoor 2|, that is, limited by an attached guidemoving in the slot 40, the overhead surface portion 24, and themagnitude of the receptacle 22. Moving the drum counterclockwise, therotatable trapdoor will close of its own weight and the remainder of theballs pressing to pass through the trapdoor 2|, will drop back into themixing drum I3 for further mixing or shuffling against baffles (notshown) inserted within the drum against each other, and against thearcuate surface portion of the drum. The strip 39 between the rims ofthe drum will prevent the balls from rolling out the opening I'I. Whenthe allocating chamber I8 reaches the high point, shown solid in Figure3, the impact with the stop 25, together with the downward inclinationof the channels, will force the five entrapped balls out of the stalls,across aligned channels on the top surface portion of the trapdoor ZIand even aligned channels on the hinged portion of the platform 26 forultimate distribution as later described. It is the semi-rotation of thedrum between the low and high or nadir and zenith positions that causesthe gravitational swinging of the trap door 2|. At the nadir position,the trap door will be in the position shown by the dot and dash line ofFigure 3. At the nadir position and durin at least the first of upwardsemi-rotation of the drum, one side of the trap door forms an inclinedplane that will guide the balls into the stalls to the extent of thecapacity thereof. During the upward cycle of the semirotation and abovethe90" point, the door will drop by gravity to impose the other side ofthe trap door as an inclined plane, at and slightly beyond the zenithposition, to guide the balls out of the stalls for disposition asdesired.

The disposition of the balls at this point will depend upon the desireof the operator who by means of the lever 21 (Fig. 9) controlling theposition of the hinged portion of the platform 25 may so regulate thelatter that the balls may be returned to the mixing drum I3 or to thehereinafter described ball-displaying tray I I (Figs. 1, 6 and 7), orthe ball-concealing box pockets I2 (Figs. 1, 3 and 10). With the lever21 (Figs. 8 and 9) set at the mix position, Figure 8. the outer end ofthe hinged portion of the platform 26 will be rotated to the upper dotdash position shown in Figure 3. With the allocating chamber I8 revolvedto the zenith position shown in Figure 3, the balls in the channels ofthe outer compartment IE; will roll by gravity out of the chamber andwill be held by the hinged end of the hinged portion of the platform 26in a position or trough 3|. However, as soon as the drum is rotatedclockwise, the balls in the trough 3I prevented from rolling down theplatform 26 or back into the chamber I8 because of the oppositelyinclined surfaces will fall downwardly by gravity. The rim of the drumI3 being open forwardly of the chamber I8 and under the position 3i inthe zenith position of the chamber I8, the balls caught between thehinged end of the hinged portion of the platform and the chamber willfall through the drum opening. Since a too rapid clockwise rotationrelative to the magnitude of the opening I! might deflect some of thebails out of the drum, a radially directed partition ltd is disposed onthe drum between the axis I6 and the end of the opening I! adjacent thechamber I8. The outer portion I60 of the partition Ilid is hingedadjacent the axis in such a manner that it will rotate under gravitycounterclockwise as illustrated in Figure 3 in the zenith position ofthe chamber to provide a guideway back into the drum for the ballsfalling through the opening I'I. With the chamber I8 in the downposition shown by the dot dash lines in Figure 3,

the hinged portion Hie of the-partition will also by gravity and thecoactionof the hinges form a straight angle as illustrated. With thelever 2" (Fig. 8) set at the upd'eal position, the channels 28 (Figs. 1and 2) of the ramp or hinged portion of the platform 26 (Figs. 2 and 3will be aligned with the channels 29 of the ball-dis playing tray 1(Figs. 1, 3- and 6). With the lever 21 set at the down deal" position,Figure 8, the channels 28 (Fig. 1) of the ramp 2%, shown in lowestdotted position in Figure 3, will be aligned with the channels 3!] (Fig.4-) to the ball concealing box-pockets [2.

The ball-displaying tray II is removably attachedto one end of thecasing II] by the supports 32 inserted over the studs 33. As attached,the plane of the top surface portion or upper deck having the channels29 aligned with the channels 28 of the ramp 26 is set at less than 90 tothe casing in order that the balls will freely run out thereon. Thefirst balls out will come in contact with the gate Strand thesubsequently dealtballs will be aligned in grooves in back of theseuntil the channels are filled as desired. By moving the gate 35 upward,the balls will be released through the transverse opening I la at thelower end, and will fall onto the lower deck or bottom member 36 of thetray ll either for storage purposes or for return to the mixing drumdependent upon whether or not the hinged parti tion 3'! actuated by thehandle 38 is open or closed. When the handle 38 is in the down or closedposition, the balls released by the gate 35v will be entrapped on thebottom member or base 36 of the tray. Thus, these entrapped balls willrepresent the used or discarded portion of the card deck. The remainderof the balls in the mixing drum, representing the unused portion of thedeck, may continue to be served in the manner previously shown. Bymoving the handle 38 to the open position, the balls will fall back intothe mixing drum after passing over the platform 34 (Figs. 3 and throughthe opening I? for further dealing as required. When not in use, thetray may be detached and stored in the cas- Where it is desired to serveor deal an unexposed hand, the movable platform lever 21 is moved to thedown deal position whereupon the balls rolling down the channels 28 ofthe platform 26 will follow the aligned channels 30, Figure 4, leadingto the five ball-concealing box pockets l2. The box pockets l2, two ofwhich are located on either side of the casing and one in the front, areof tunnel shape adjustably attached to the casing so that an opening inthe pocket will fit over a corresponding opening in the casing. Thepocket is of such depth that the ball is visible only to the player whohas removed the pocket. As in the case of the tray, when the boxpocketsare not in use, they may be stored also in the casing.

The channels of the ball displaying tray may be numbered consecutivelyand the box pockets 6; fications without departing from the scope orintent of the present invention. All of such variations andmodifications are to be included Within the scope of. the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable device for the mechanical playing of simulated card gameswherein the cards are replaced by balls carrying card indicia, thedevice comprising a casing, a downwardly and outwardly directed platformsecured to an-inner wall of the casing, the casing having an openingformed therein, the platform having at least one longitudinal channelformed thereon and adapted to guide the balls through said opening outof the casing; the apparatus further comprising a mixing drum for theballs rotatably disposed in the casing, the drum having an openingformed in the rim thereof; the mixing drum further comprising anallocating chamber disposed at one end of the drum opening, a floordisposed in the chamber substantially along the periphery of the drumdividing the chamber into an inner and an outer compartment, said floorbeing adapted to be moved into a position wherein it is substantially inalinement with said platform, the inner compartment communicating withthe interior'of the drum and the outer compartment having an open end.adjacent the opening in the rim of the drum, atrap door hingedlydisposed in the floor at theopen end of the outer compartment andopening therein, the floor having a channel formed thereon and adaptedto be aligned with the channel on the platform.

2. A portable device for the mechanical playing of simulated card gameswherein the cards are replaced by balls carrying card indicia, thedevice comprising a casing, a downwardly and outwardly directed platformsecured to an inner wall of the casing, the casing having an openingformed therein, the platform having at least' one longitudinal channelformed thereon and adapted to guide the balls through said opening outof the casing; the apparatus further comprising a mixing drum for theballs rotatably disposed in the casing, the drum having sides extendingparallel to the longitudinal center line of the platform and equallyspaced on either side thereof, and a rim having an opening formedtherein; the mixing drum further comprising an allocating chamberdisposed at one end of the rim opening and extending above the peripheryof the drum, a floor disposed in the allocating chamber dividing thechamber into an inner and an outer compartment substantially along theperiphery of the drum, the inner compartment communicating with theinterior of the drum and adapted to entrap at least one ball in the downposition of the chamber, the floor having at least one channel on theside of the outer compartment adapted to be alined with the channel onthe platform in a predetermined position of the drum, and a trap doorhingedly disposed in the floor and adapted to pass at least one ballfrom the inner to the outer compartment when the chamber is in the downposition.

3. A portable device for the mechanical playing of simulated card gameswherein the cards are replaced by balls carrying card indicia, thedevice oomprising a casing, a platform secured to an inner wall of thecasing, the casing having an opening formed therein, the platform beingoutwardly and downwardly inclined and adapted to display the ballsemerging through said opening at the front of the casing, the backportion of the platform being hinged and adapted to rotate the outeredge of the hinged portion upwardly above the plane of the platform anddownwardly below the plane thereof, the platform having at least onechannel formed thereon and adapted to guide the balls out of the casingwhen the hinged portion is in the plane of the platform; the apparatusfurther comprising a mixing drum for the balls rotatably disposed in thecasing, the drum having sides equally spaced on either side of thelongitudinal center line of the platform, and a rim having an openingformed therein; the mixing drum further comprising an allocating chamberdisposed at one end of the rim opening and extending thereabove, a floordisposed in the allocating chamber substantially along the rim of thedrum, the floor dividing the chamber into an inner and outercompartment, the inner compartment being adapted to entrap at least oneball when the chamber is rotated to the down position, the outercompartment having an open end adapted to be alined with the hinged endof the platform when the hinged end is in the plane of the platform, thehinged end interrupting the connection between the outer compartment andthe platform when the hinged end is in its upward and downwardpositions, said casing having a pocket formed therein for receivingballs from said hinged end in the downward position thereof, the floorhaving at least one longitudinal channel on the side of the outercompartment,

a trap door hingedly disposed in the floor at the open end of the outercompartment and adapted to pass the ball entrapped in the innercompartment to the outer compartment in the down position of thechamber, and means returning the ball from the hinged end of theplatform in the up position thereof to the drum.

4. A portable device for the mechanical playing of simulated card gamesaccording to claim 3 in which the means returning the ball from thehinged end of the platform in the up position thereof to the drumcomprises a partition radially disposed in the drum and aligned with thehinged end of the platform in the up position of the chamber, saiddevice further comprising a trap door hingedly disposed in the inner endof the partition and opening outwardly toward the opening in the rim ofthe drum under gravity in the up position of the chamber.

JOHN J. HICKEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,470 Haskell Aug. '7, 19032,334,092 Hickey Nov. 9, 1943 2,334,093 Hickey Nov. 9, 1943 2,383,860Hickey Aug. 28, 1945

